Lightning hits French president's plane, none hurt

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By ABC7

PARIS

It was a startling beginning for a man who promised to be a more
"normal" president, and less flashy than his predecessor Nicolas
Sarkozy, who was ousted by voters after a single term for his
handling of a stagnant economy plagued by joblessness.

After a succession of rain-drenched and pomp-filled ceremonial
inauguration events, Hollande took off in a Falcon 7X aircraft for
Berlin. The plane was hit by lightning shortly afterward, and
returned to the Villacoublay air base outside Paris as a precaution
for inspection, Defense Ministry spokesman Gerard Gachet said.

Defense officials say the president and his entourage were
transferred to another aircraft, a Falcon 900, and left shortly
thereafter. That made Hollande about an hour and a half late for
his first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Hollande was following a postwar custom for new French leaders
to reach out to their German counterparts to solidify European
unity. Right before leaving for Berlin, Hollande named a moderate,
German-friendly member of his Socialist party, Jean-Marc Ayrault,
as his prime minster.

The new French president and Merkel are in different camps when
it comes to solving Europe's debt crisis. While new figures Tuesday
showed the 17-nation eurozone has avoided a new recession, thanks
largely to Germany, political turmoil in Greece was reviving fears
about the fate of their shared euro currency.

Hollande, elected May 6 as France's first Socialist president
since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995, rode to the
presidency on a wave of resurgent leftist sentiment amid Europe's
debt woes and protests against capitalism around the world.

The 57-year-old displayed his populist touch in between
Tuesday's ceremonies, stopping for handshakes -- and even a kiss --
with adoring fans.

Arriving Tuesday morning at the 18th-century Elysee Palace, the
traditional residence of French presidents, Hollande was greeted by
Sarkozy on the red-carpeted steps. The two held a 40-minute private
meeting that is traditionally the moment when the outgoing
president hands over the codes to France's nuclear arsenal.

Hollande was declared president after the head of the
constitutional court read out the final results of the May 6
election.

The new president immediately acknowledged the challenges he
inherits: "a massive debt, weak growth, high unemployment,
degraded competitiveness, and a Europe that is struggling to come
out of crisis."

In his speech, Hollande promised to fight financial speculation
and "open a new path" in Europe. He has pushed back against a
European budget-cutting pact championed by Merkel and Sarkozy.

"To overcome the crisis that is hitting it, Europe needs plans.
It needs solidarity. It needs growth. To our partners, I will
propose a new pact that will tie the necessary reduction of public
debt with the indispensable stimulus of the economy," he said.

Hollande also pledged to bring "dignity and simplicity" to the
presidential role -- something voters felt that Sarkozy did not
always do.

The French mood is glum. Many voters looked to the inauguration
as a rare moment of national pride and to Hollande's presidency as
a new opportunity to make things better.

Earlier Tuesday, the state statistics agency released new
figures showing that the French economy had failed to grow in the
first quarter. Some economists predict a contraction ahead, which
would complicate Hollande's promises to rein in the deficit.

World markets and other European leaders will be watching
closely to see whether and how Hollande follows through on his
campaign promises, such as pulling French troops out of
Afghanistan, freezing gasoline prices and hiking taxes on the rich.
Observers expect that once he settles into the presidency, he's
likely to fall back into the moderate consensus-building that has
characterized his career.

Crucial to Hollande's presidency will be his relationship with
Merkel, the German chancellor.v
The announcement of lawmaker Ayrault (ay-ROW) as prime minister
may well prove an advantage for this relationship. Ayrault, who
leads the Socialists in Parliament, is a German speaker and a
former teacher of the language of Goethe. The 62-year-old Ayrault
and Hollande are said to be very close.

After the Berlin visit, Hollande heads later this week to the
United States to meet President Barack Obama and attend summits of
the Group of Eight and NATO.

In the ceremony Tuesday, Hollande received the insignia of the
Grand Croix from the hands of Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who heads
the prestigious Legion of Honor, and the necklace of the Great
Master of the Order of the Legion of Honor. Each linked medallion
of the necklace bears the name of a president, with Hollande's name
recently added.

Hollande shook hands with many of the hundreds at the ceremony,
then reviewed troops in the palace gardens. Following tradition, 21
shots were fired from cannons at the Invalides, a domed complex on
the opposite side of the Seine River that holds Napoleon's tomb.

Rain started pouring down on the famed Champs-Elysees avenue as
Hollande rode up its center, standing in the sunroof of his hybrid
Citroen DS5, trailed by dozens of Republican Guardsmen on horseback
and motorcycle. His suit was visibly drenched within moments. He
then headed for the Arc de Triomphe, and its monument to the
unknown soldier.

His second presidential speech of the day focused on education,
as he pledged to create 60,000 new teaching jobs in the aftermath
of cuts Sarkozy had made.

Hollande, who has never been married, was joined for the Elysee
ceremonies and in his motorcade car Tuesday by his girlfriend,
journalist Valerie Trierweiler.

Hollande's former partner and the mother of his four children,
Segolene Royal, joined him later Tuesday in a ceremony at Paris
City Hall. Royal, a prominent Socialist politician, was runner-up
to Sarkozy in the 2007 election. She is angling for a top job under
Hollande's presidency.

Hollande's first presidential meal reflected relative modesty,
at least by French culinary standards: lobster and citrus terrine,
cote de boeuf, and strawberry macaron cookies for dessert.

Sarkozy left the palace hand-in-hand with wife Carla
Bruni-Sarkozy, had a last handshake on the palace steps with
Hollande, then was driven away. Former staff members gathered in
the palace courtyard applauded loudly as Sarkozy left, and fans at
the Elysee gates waved signs reading "Nicolas, merci!"